THE BUZZ: Fans of hardcore old-school dungeon crawling series Etrian Odyssey have more FOE to look forward to, as Etrian Odyssey IV is coming to the 3DS.

EGM’s TAKE: Yeah, okay, so, I’ve never played the original Etrian Odyssey, I own parts II and III, and yet I’ve only played a few hours of EOII and haven’t even opened EOIII. I’m never going to get through this series before I die, am I?

For those of you who have been good about devoting the time to get through them, then you’ll have more Atlus dungeon-crawling fun to experience some time in the near future. The game is hitting Japan on July 5th, and I would expect it’ll be announced for America for release sometime before the end of the year.

Etrian Odyssey IV will feature classes such as swordsman, sniper, fortress, medic, rune master, night seeker, and dancer, and will feature a new “casual” difficulty mode for players who aren’t as skilled at the genre (though difficulty can be changed at any time).

Here’s a quick teaser trailer for the game show at the Nintendo Direct conference earlier today in Japan.

Eric L. Patterson got started via self-publishing game-related fanzines in junior high, and now has one goal in life: making sure EGM has as much coverage of niche Japanese games as can realistically be crammed in. Eric’s also active in the gaming community on a personal level, being an outspoken voice on topics such as equality in gaming and consumer rights. Stalk Eric on Twitter: @Eric_EGM. Meet the rest of the crew.